Restaurant of the Week: Pittsburgh Broasted Chicken

This restaurant opened a few months back north of the old Food 4 Less in a strip mall that is also home to Christy’s Donuts, a nail salon, 98 Cent Plus and a Vietnamese sandwich shop. The space’s previous occupant was the shortlived Sushi 4 U, which I liked to imagine was run by a Prince acolyte.

PBC, as I’m going to call it for brevity, was empty when I ventured in for a mid-afternoon meal this week. The interior appears clean and bright. You order at the counter. I think the owners are Korean American.

I got the 2 piece dinner plus a soda ($6.69). (It was only after ordering that I noticed “lunch specials” on the menu. D’oh! It’s tough trying to absorb a new menu while someone is waiting for you to order.)

They gave me my choice of pieces, so I went with a breast and thigh. You also have a choice of four styles: original, plain, lemon pepper or cajun. (Begging the question, what is the difference between original and plain?) I went with lemon pepper. The dinner comes with a side of slaw, potato salad, macaroni salad or baked beans; I went for the slaw.

The dinner was made to order and came out after 15 minutes. The meal was served in a basket that was heaped with potato squares, kind of like Wendy’s fries except in cubes. They were pretty good. The slaw was standard. There was a roll too.

As for the chicken, it was impressive. I have limited experience with broasted chicken — who doesn’t? — but the mysterious process of broasting somehow involves both pressure cooking and deep frying. As they say on this Chowhound thread, don’t try this at home. You can read a more official version at the official broasting website. Scroll down for an apt quote from a “West Wing” episode.

The PBC version of broasted chicken had crispy skin and very moist, flavorful meat, even if the lemon and pepper were too subtle for me. (Maybe lemon pepper, original and plain are all the same.)

The meal was a good deal for the money. All in all, a pleasant surprise.

Thank you for the review! I love broasted chicken, but I couldn’t find anywhere that made it. Now I know where to go. So far the only chicken I like in the area is Giuseppe’s chicken kabob and Juan Pollo’s roasted chicken. Thanks again! Cindy

[Oddly enough, I ate at this place last night, for the first time since writing this piece in November…and hours later, here’s your comment on it. Glad you liked it. — DA]

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A roundup of news, history, food, travel and cultural items from around the Inland Valley.

About this blogger

A journalist for nearly 30 years, David Allen has been chronicling the Inland Valley for the Daily Bulletin since 1997 and blogging since 2007. His first book, "Pomona A to Z," was published in 2014.
E-mail David here. Read recent columns here.